On Monday, April 13, the WNBA had its 30th annual draft. Azzi Fudd was selected number one and will now play for the Dallas Wings in the 2026 season.
No.1 overall pick, Azzi Fudd, poses on the draft stage with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert. By: Pamela Smith/AP Photo
There was a lot of discourse online regarding the number one pick and who deserved to go number one. The top prospects were Azzi Fudd from the University of Connecticut, Lauren Betts from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Awa Fam, a 19-year-old basketball player from Spain.
“Considering the moves that were made in the off-season with free-agency, it made the most sense for them to draft a guard as they did,” commented Rebekah Gallo (9). The head coach for the Dallas Wings, Jose Fernandez, has expressed how much he enjoys playing with a three-guard setup. This is most likely why Fudd was drafted first overall; both Betts and Fam are primarily centers, which Dallas already has three of.
This off-season, the players’ union was able to negotiate a new agreement that allows the new rookie class to make up to $2.2 million on their four-year rookie contract. This is a huge increase from the previous cap of $348,000. “It is important to pay the players what they deserve. They are putting their body on the line every day just to do their job, and for them to only get paid $87,000 a year from their salary alone is crazy,” stated freshman Katalina Osorio.
This increase in payment for both the rookies and previous players has the opportunity to help grow the league in so many ways. “If the players are getting paid more, then it will open up the opportunity for more overseas players to come and play in the US,” Osorio (9) continues.
Speaking of growth in the league, two new expansion teams are joining the league this season. When asked about his thoughts on how this shows the growth of the league, Yahzair Faisom (9) noted,
“It is a physical manifestation of the growth the league has shown in the last few years.” This is definitely reflected in the draft this year, a record 45 players were drafted to different teams. No. 6 overall pick, Kiki Rice, was drafted to one of these expansion teams, the Toronto Tempo. Rice is one of the record-breaking six seniors, the entire senior class from UCLA, to be drafted last Monday, making the most players from one school ever drafted in a WNBA draft. UCLA took home its first NCAA women’s basketball national championship title just eight days before the draft. “It takes a lot of hard work and dedication on the individual and team level to win a championship, so that probably helped all their seniors get drafted,” commented Faisom (9) when asked about how their winning the national title may have played into all of them getting drafted.
UCLA Bruins (from left) Angela Dugalic, Kiki Rice, Gianna Kneepkens, Lauren Betts, and Gabriela Jaquez, who were all selected in the WNBA draft. By: Angelina Katsanis / Getty Images
The 2026 WNBA draft was record-breaking in so many aspects and continues to show just how far the league, and women’s sports in general, have come. There is still so much room for growth, and it only seems to be going up from here.
